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In 2025, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence access for the public at large also means growing concern and their .

Concerns encompass the and in dialog with AI chatbots—.

There are also risks that the promise of and that are foundational for their well-being and cognitive development.

AI is entering classrooms quickly, whether through children's own AI use or lesson plans. The New York Times recently reported on an replaced teachers with "guides," . diagnose, assess and "optimize" children's learning.

As a researcher with expertise in , and a retired practicing psychotherapist, I amplify educator calls for caution. We need and safeguard children's privacy, especially considering the rapid rate that children adapt to technology.

72 million data points by age 13

In the transition back to fall routines, educators and parents concerned with the benefits of children's active outdoor play for their well-being struggle to .

A recent Organization for Economic Development Report entitled outlines the importance of a "four-pillar" approach to enhancing child well-being that involves parents and guardians, a legal and policy framework, teachers and schools and the voices of children themselves.

Concern over children's mental health in the digital world is hardly new. Advocacy groups such as and their have long pushed for stronger monitoring and regulation, urging tech companies to put children's needs ahead of corporate profit.

They have amassed "" that child-targeted marketing, and the excessive screen time it fuels, undermines healthy development. By the time a child turns 13, technology companies may have already amassed them—and there is virtually no regulation governing how that information is used.

shows that 70% of 10-year-olds in developed countries own a smartphone, and by age 15, at least half of them spend 30 or more hours a week on their devices.

Called "persuasive design," techniques like infinite scroll, autoplay, intermittent rewards and eye-catching design are used to hook children and keep them glued to screens, .

From cognitive off-loading to emotional mining

AI, with its growing ability to "think" for us, is accelerating outsourcing mental effort to machines. For young children , this is especially troubling. If for adults this sounds abstract, ask yourself how many phone numbers you can remember without your device.

What researchers call even further, mining facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, text sentiment and even heart rate . The technology is increasingly built into smart toys, wearables and, perhaps most concerning, AI chatbots that children or teens turn to for comfort.

The stakes are high: without deliberate safeguards, we risk not just outsourcing children's memory and reasoning, but compromising their .

Policymakers' lag on digital regulation

Researchers are increasingly , and there are growing . In law, and with regulation and guidance in schools and in the home, student mental health and privacy protection should be prioritized.

But are wanting.

The Liberal government's proposed , died with Parliament's prorogation in 2025, and with it the promise of a Digital Safety Commission with the power to .

the federal government .

Privacy commissioner consultations

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada recently held in digital regulation, with the consultation window .

Forty-one leading civil organizations, academic institutions and experts endorsed a joint statement , inspired by the . The top principle: the best interests of the child.

Some voices of children

But never underestimate a child. When social collaborated between the ages of eight and 12 in the United States, they found something striking.

While most children said they weren't allowed out in public alone, and more than half had never walked down a grocery aisle unaccompanied or used a sharp knife, their online use was remarkably unsupervised.

But when asked how they prefer to spend their leisure time, only a quarter mentioned their devices, favoring free play with their friends, and 87% of surveyed children said they wished they could spend more time with their friends in person outside of school.

Parents and educators are navigating a world where screens, algorithms and AI companions compete for children's attention and shape their development.

In this context, the humble call from kids for more unstructured play with friends is not nostalgia; it's . Protecting that space may do more to safeguard their cognitive and emotional growth than any app, program or device ever could.